Steelers Week 3: Key matchups

Mike Bires @mikebires

Saturday

Sep 24, 2011 at 12:01 AMSep 24, 2011 at 8:32 PM

IKE TAYLOR vs. REGGIE WAYNE

Starting tonight, the Steelers play two straight games against teams that feature all-star wide receivers. Next week in Houston, it will be Andre Johnson. This evening in Indianapolis, it's Reggie Wayne, who ranked second in the NFL last year with 111 catches and 1,355 receiving yards. The man responsible for defending those two elite wideouts will be Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor.

Now in his ninth season with the Steelers -- seven of them as a starter --- Taylor's never been to the Pro Bowl. But he's done an admirable job over the years guarding Pro Bowl-caliber receivers.

Even though Taylor is listed as the Steelers' right side corner, he'll typically shadow an opponent's No. 1 receiver wherever he lines up. That will be the case again tonight, although Wayne almost always lines up on the left side of the Colts' offensive formation.

In the Colts' first two games, Kerry Collins has targeted Wayne a team-high 19 times. Wayne leads the Colts with 11 catches for 172 yards and a touchdown. In the Steelers' first two games, opposing QBs have thrown in Taylor's director just seven times. All he's allowed so far has been a 9-yard catch by Seattle's Mike Williams.

ANTONIO BROWN vs. COLTS' COVERAGE TEAMS

It didn't take long for the Colts to experience a special teams breakdown. On their opening kickoff of the 2011 season, they allowed Houston's Danieal Manning to return it 46 yards. In the second quarter, Jacoby Jones returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown in the Texans' 34-7 win. Last week when the Colts lost to the Browns, Joshua Cribbs set up two TDs with a 52-yard kickoff return and a 43-yard punt return.

No wonder Antonio Brown, a wide receiver who returns kickoffs and punts, likes his chances today. He's well aware that the Colts rank 31st in covering kickoffs (an average of 42 yards per return). He's also well aware that the Colts also rank 31st in covering punts (28.6 yards per return).

Brown has already had returns of 41 yards on a kickoff and punt this season. The first time he touched the ball as a rookie last year was on the opening kickoff in Nashville. He returned it 89 yards for a TD that ignited the Steelers to a 19-11 win over the Titans.

When he played college football at Central Michigan, Brown was twice named Mid-American Conference Special Teams Player of the Year. He'd love to do something special tonight against the Colts.

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